Chapter Thirty-Seven: Sow a New Mentality

As they descended deep into the earth on an elevator, Marc could feel the other man’s eyes stick to him the entire time. He still wasn’t entirely sure how he had gotten here. The meeting with Guild Head Ba’eth hadn’t exactly gone bad, but it certainly had not gone according to plan either.

“How… How do you know the Guild Head?” A timid voice whispered from next to him. There were a few other people in the elevator but no one reacted or appeared to be listening.

“I just happened to meet her this morning. When I was getting my application for the guild approved.” Marc whispered back. It was sort of the truth. He still didn’t think he could say he “knew” the Dwarf.

“That’s amazing. I’ve been here for almost four years and that was the most we have ever spoken.” The other man’s voice was a mix of envy and respect.

“Four years? So are you a Guild member?” Marc asked.

“Yes! Although it took me more than two years. Longer than most people since I can’t hunt or take any contracts outside the walls.”

Their conversation was cut off as the elevator doors opened and they both stepped out into the large open space containing one of the massive fields.

“Come on, it’s this way,” Enpii said and started walking along the rear wall. About ten meters down there was a large door, almost invisible behind the illusionary wall covering. On the other side of the door was an entirely different environment.

It looked like a hangar at an Air Force base. A large, perfectly round room, easily a hundred meters in diameter and ten meters tall, it was a beehive of activity. There were people everywhere, moving carts full of crates and bales of grains, stacks of goods and boxes everywhere, and at least a dozen large lifts, moving even more crates and people up and down to different floors. Around the circumference of the room were many doors of various sizes.

Enpii grabbed Marc’s elbow and dragged him along, around the perimeter of the room toward one of the smaller doors.

“Gotta watch out. The trucks don’t slow down for anyone.” Marc had a strange flashback of fear at those words, but realized that Enpii was referring to the hundreds of wheeled carts being pushed around by people between the various doorways and elevators.

Stepping through the door was like stepping through a portal to another world, with another magical projected sky. This was another agricultural space, although instead of grains, there were hundreds of rows of plants and bushes, each row extending as far as he could see. Every ten meters or so was a wide path where carts full of stacked crates were being pushed back and forth along the rows of plants. Marc could see dozens of workers picking fruits, sorting crates, and packing boxes near the doors.

“Over here.” Enpii led Marc toward a small group of tables where a tall man was standing holding a clipboard similar to the one used by the customs inspector at the City gate.

“Administrator Bryss. Sorry, I’m late. I brought a new recruit. This is Marc.” Enpii said cheerfully.

Then he leaned toward the other man and whispered not so subtlely, “He’s an acquaintance of the Guild Head.”

Administrator Bryss was tall, with a dark, milk chocolate complexion and curly dirty blond hair. He had a huge smile with lots of teeth that showed as he grinned at Enpii and Marc.

“Enpii! Thank goodness! I was getting worried we would be below quota today. And Marc, Welcome! A friend of the Head? That’s impressive. I guess we can expect good results then.” he spoke quickly and cheerfully.

“We are full up on the orchards, but still need hands on the berries. How does blueberries sound? Or would you prefer strawberries?”

“Strawberries. We’ll do the strawberries.” Enpii quickly spoke out. Bryss smiled and gave Enpii a knowing wink.

“Sure thing. Just head over to row… 41. Have fun!” The administrator gave a chuckle, then marked something off on his clipboard and went back to speak to some of the people behind the desks.

Enpii grabbed Marc’s elbow again and pulled him towards the fields. They stopped at the end of one row, and Marc noticed a small wooden pole sticking into the ground with the number 41 printed on the end.

They each picked up a crate, which was in turn filled with many smaller containers. Marc paid close attention as Enpii showed Marc how to determine which strawberries were ripe, and how to best pick them without damaging the fruit or the plants. They were to pick the fruits and fill a container, then switch the container with an empty one from a crate. When a crate was full, they would swap it out for an empty one on the carts that made their way back and forth on a nearby pathway.

“Sorry for picking without asking you first,” said Enpii, “but trust me. This is the better job. Blueberries are easy enough to pick, but it’s so hard to get the color from your hands at the end of the day. Everyone at the dorms always has a good laugh when I come back with purple hands.” He chuckled good-naturedly.

Initially, Marc was quite confident. His harvesting skill was basically a cheat that should give him a big boost. He could always immediately find the ripe strawberries and His hands moved instinctively to properly pick the fruits. He didn’t want to show off in front of his guide though, so he started slow, taking his time as he picked.

Soon he realized that he was far behind Enpii in filling up his crate, so he sped up a bit to try to make a good showing at least. Falling behind even further, Marc went full speed, making sure to use his skill to the fullest to catch up. He never did catch up that day.

“Is he using some kind of skill?” Marc asked Kira.

《As you noticed, he has no Mana Core and no skills. He is just much, much better at this than you.》

Marc couldn’t help but be impressed. Even without skills and magic, it’s possible to do impressive things. Then again, that was how things had been for him before he came to this world.

The first couple of hours they worked were relatively quiet. After a while, Enpii suggested that they take a break for lunch. He mentioned that the restaurants were in one of the other sections in case Marc wanted to go, but that he had brought his own lunch.

Luckily Marc remembered the bundle of food he had received from Keri in the morning, so he went back to get his bag from where they had stored their things. On the way back to where Enpii was sitting, Marc pulled the food bundle and his water bottle from his storage, but left them in his bag.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Enpii had what Marc recognized as a Potkas bun and a small yellow fruit that Marc had never seen before. They sat at a table set up for people taking a break and started eating.

Marc watched closely as Enpii expertly opened the bun, squeezing the middle to create a seam, then sectioning the bun in two before ripping the two halves apart without spilling a single drop of soup.

Noticing his attention, Enpii quickly offered half to Marc. Embarrassed by his attention being misinterpreted, Marc quickly refused, But Enpii insisted. Then Marc remembered the food bundle and pulled out the two sandwiches that Keri had packed for him. He handed one to Enpii, then eagerly dove into the Potkas bun, slowly drinking the soup this time, then savoring the meat in the center.

As they finished the meal, Marc took out the pastries from the food bundle, then he used his water bottle to brew some charnall tea. Enpi contributed the strange bumpy fruit, which was similar to a lemon crossed with an orange. While very sour, the juice had a delightful fresh taste and even the peels gave off a wonderful energizing smell.

《They had those in your old world you know.》

“Huh? Really? What is it?”

《It’s called a Yuzu. They are banned in your country though.》

“How do you know about it if I don’t?”

《…》

《Maybe you forgot?》

“I have perfect recall now. I’m pretty sure I have never heard of Yuzu.”

《Hmmm. Mysterious.》

“Kira. First the thing with Ba’eth. Now this. You’re hiding things from me aren’t you?”

《Of course not. Well, maybe “hiding” is not the right word. I’m just looking out for you.》

“For me? Or for your mission?”

《It’s the same thing, isn’t it?》

“Is it?”

《Hey, the new guy is staring at you.》

Enpii indeed was staring at Marc silently, then he seemed to come to a decision.

“You are a Fire Mage, right?” Enpii asked, staring at the water bottle. Marc had used a bit of magic to heat up the water for the tea.

“Yeah.” He almost asked Enpii about his magic before remembering the status window he had seen.

Enpii looked troubled. He obviously wanted to ask something but didn’t seem to know how to say it.

“Just ask. What do you want to know?” Marc said smiling.

Enpii took a deep breath. “How… umm… Why…” He shut down as he couldn’t seem to come up with the right question.

“Just ask. I won’t be bothered. Promise.” Marc said, starting to suspect what the other man was trying to say.

“Why are you so small? Even though you can use magic?” Enpii blurted out.

Marc laughed. “I figured. Yeah, everyone around thinks I’m just a little kid. But trust me, I’m 20, and yes I can use Mana. See?” He did his sparkler trick and Enpii’s eyes widened.

“Are you a Juujin? Or maybe a half-dwarf or something? I’ve just never seen…” He got caught up on the words again.

“Nope, human.” Marc realized this was technically a lie. But it’s not like he could say he was a Traveller.

“It’s just. I mean, we’re pretty close in size. I, I can’t use magic. I don’t have a Mana Core, so… They say that’s why I’m… like this.” He pointed up and down his body.

“Yeah,” Marc admitted. “I’m kind of a special case. I’m pretty weak, and even my magic is not the strongest, or easy to use. All I can do is heat myself up a bit or make tea.” He said, trying to appear humble. “They won’t let me go hunting or anything like that.”

“No! That’s amazing. You can control Mana externally. That’s Journeyman level. I’m so jealous.” While he had said that, what Marc could detect in the other man’s face was not jealousy, but admiration.

“How about you? How are you able to work so fast without Magic? I couldn’t even come close to keeping up with you. You know, I used to do a lot of gardening.” He said, trying to move the focus off himself.

“Well, I have been doing this for a long time. Six days a week for over four years.” He said with no small hint of pride.

“Six days a week. He means local days right?” He checked with Kira

《Yup.》

“And there are only six days in a local week. So he had been working here every day for more than four years?”

《Seems so. He dusted you didn’t he, even with your cheat powers.》

“It’s not cheating. Really…” He thought back at his interface, not really sure now.

“I’m pretty amazed. You don’t find it hard? Or boring to work here?” Marc thought of the times he was offered jobs to work on his relative’s farms. How he thought of the work as below himself, even though he had never done anything with his life.

“Hard? well sometimes maybe. at the start, for sure. But this is a great job. I am really happy here. I am grateful I can even get a job. A lot of places wouldn’t let someone like me…” He faltered.

“The Guild even let me get a membership, even though you are supposed to have awakened your Mana Core before you can join. I heard that the Guild Head herself supported my application. Even though I’m crippled. No one treats me poorly. Even the Hunters. I can even make a pretty good living.” He seemed to be truly grateful for this life.

“Yeah,” Marc echoed. “It is pretty great here, isn’t it?

After cleaning up, they went back to harvesting. As they did, Enpii and Marc continued their conversation, talking about a variety of subjects. Marc learned more about the city and the Guild. He also learned more about this odd young man.

Enpii was not from Clearwater. He had arrived on a ship when he was very young. The Captain of the ship had bought Enpii as a slave in another country and had been keeping him in secret while traveling through the Republic. When he had been discovered, the Captain had been promptly arrested, and as the punishment for slavery was very strict in this country, executed.

Marc wondered if this story was in part responsible for Grenn’s assumptions when they first met.

The City took full responsibility for raising the young boy, providing him with guardians who took care of him, and even a stipend to support himself for as long as was needed. They never were able to determine the cause of his condition, but just had to assume it was due to an illness, or perhaps more likely abuse that he had been exposed to early in his life.

Marc felt an immediate bond with this young man. Aside from the physical similarities, they were both recipients of the goodwill of the people of this place. It was also hard to not be drawn to the positive and resilient nature of Enpii. He had to struggle so much just to keep up, but did so without complaint. Marc doubted he could ever be so down-to-earth and positive.

Marc had arguably far less to share, so spent much of the workday listening to Enpii and asking questions. When they finished work, the final total was close. Enpii had filled 28 crates of strawberries to Marc’s 25.

Bryss was more than satisfied and praised Marc for doing so well on his first request, but it was still a little hard to accept his loss, despite using his harvesting skill. He was surprised that there was no strict accounting system to monitor the work they did. Enpii simply told Bryss how many crates they had each filled, and then Bryss filled it in on his clipboard. He made some notes on the job request forms and stamped them before handing them back.

As they rode the elevator back up, Marc asked Enpii about it.

“How do they know we finished that much work? No one was checking us right?” He asked.

“Well, they will check and account for all the crops in the sorting rooms later,” Enpii explained as though it was simply common sense.

“Yeah, But how do they know how much we harvested?”

“Well, if we said we did 30 crates, but only did 25, then they would be 5 short. They would know.” Enpii said, not sure why Marc was confused.

“There were dozens of people working today. How would they know if you or I changed our numbers?” Marc pushed.

Enpii frowned. “I suppose someone could cheat like that, but I don’t know why they would. Just for a few more Rel? I have spent years building up the trust of the Guild. They require that we be honest in our dealings. Why would I risk all that work over a crate of strawberries?”

Marc thought about it. When Enpii said it, it made perfect sense. But every job he had ever had treated him like a criminal right from the start. Monitoring his computer usage, tracking every single minute worked and even how often he went to the bathroom on shift, and security bag checks at the door. He had even worked a “skilled” white-collar job at a fancy tech company. He had started to notice here however that people had different values. Thinking about it though, he couldn’t find holes in the logic.

《Marc?》

“Huh?”

《Before you get back to the Guild, I think we should have a talk.》

This was new. Kira always just jabbered away in his head whenever she wanted. Now she wanted to have a “talk”?

“Last time I had one of those, I got fired, then run over by a truck.”

《Some big things have changed. I just think you need to think clearly when making your decisions on how to proceed going forward.》

She had a point, as she usually did. But Marc didn’t like the heavy-handed method she was using.

“You probably want me to stay in the city, right?”

《Yes, but I have things I should tell you. Things I learned from Ba’eth》

That was intriguing.

“Fine. I’ll ask Grenn to give me some alone time once we get back.”

《Good. It’s just a few small things.》

Somehow, Marc wasn’t entirely sure about that.